Lining Out the Word: Dr. Watts Hymn Singing in the Music of Black Americans

This book, a milestone in American music scholarship, is the first to take a close look at an important and little—studied component of African American music, one that has roots in Europe, but was adapted by African American congregations and went on to have a profound influence on music of all kinds—from gospel to soul to jazz. “Lining out,” also called Dr. Watts hymn singing, refers to hymns sung to a limited selection of familiar tunes, intoned a line at a time by a leader and taken up ...